It seems bizarre to see two people holding a laptop over a casket, crying as inaudible words are coming from its speakers. But who was it that said that one must never judge a book by its cover? What people may view as a weird moment is the last act of love of one woman to her dead sister.
Milanyo and Encarnacion were inseparable ever since they were little. They were born into a country waging a war with her Asian brother. This is why they were left alone with their mother and younger sister Purita. There were many brothers and sisters before Encarnacion and Milanyo but they died long before the sisters could have memories of them.
“Yung mga kapatid ng nanay, marami sa kanila namatay dahil sa gutom,” said Rey, the youngest son of Encarnacion, “Maaga kasing namatay ang lolo ko.”
When their father died, their mother looked for another husband to support her and her three daughters. They were living in a time when women who work are frowned upon. When her mother remarried, they had another younger brother. Soon, their mother died and their stepfather left them.
“Parang binigyan lang sila ng bagong pakakainin”, Rey stated referring to the youngest brother, Ruding.
Encarnacion and Milanyo, or as they were better known—Ency and Mila, were the older sisters and were task to be responsible in taking care of the family. They became partners. They did everything together to help their family survive. When one goes to sell vegetables, the other sells chicken and meat. What one starts, the other finishes.
When Ency started having her own family, Mila married her childhood sweetheart. But though Ency’s family started to blossom from one child to five children, Mila had her heart broken after one month’s marriage. Her husband was a drunkard and relied only on Mila’s business in the market. She left her husband and never spoke about him ever since. Ency was the only one who knew about her first heart break—no one else knew.
“Sabi ni Nanay Ency, noong nalaman niyang namatay na si Auntie Milagring, pinunit na niya yung marriage contract ni Auntie Mila para parang dalaga pa rin si Auntie Mila hanggang sa pagkamatay niya.”
Mila fell in love once more and she bore a child. But her happily ever after was not meant to be. After a few years, the father of her child left her. And Ency was there to help her raise her child and mend her heart. There were many more suitors but Mila refused to be involved. Instead she concentrated in her chicken-selling business to provide for her only son.
When it was Ency’s turn for heartbreak, Mila was there. Mila abandoned her chicken stand and went straight to the Makati Medical Hospital when Ency’s husband died of a heart attack.
Since Ency and Mila’s children were all grown up, they built a duplex where they could both live and grow old together. But they never got around to spending the rest of their lives together. Mila continued to support her only son by selling chicken at the Quiapo market. She spends the day slaving away in the market and sleeps the night at a small made-to-do apartment at the top of her market stand.
As time passed, Ency’s children migrated to different countries like USA and Canada. Her children wanted her to live a comfortable life so she stayed in the USA leaving Mila behind.
Soon, they were only communicating through the help of their grandchildren navigating the complicated world of the worldwide web. They would only be able to see each other through webcams and hear each other’s voices through internet calling.
“Tuwing pasko, dinadala naming sa reunion yung mga laptop. Tapos tatawag kami sa computer ng mga kamag-anak namin sa USA at Canada. Buong araw kaming nagkakausap. Madalas sina Nanay Ency at Auntie Mila yung palaging nag-uusap habang nagkwekwentuhan yung ibang mga ka-anak.”
After working so hard at the market and without anybody looking after her, Mila became ill. She had grown thin and weak. She had to quit selling chickens and reside with her only son. But her son’s income was not enough to help her get through the disease especially with the high price of medicines and other commodities. She was hospitalized numerous times. Doctors keep telling her that she could fight through it but in the end, she herself wanted to give up.
On the night of her fatal stroke, she was talking to her younger sister Puring. She was asking for Ency. She wanted to be taken away from the hospital and start living with her in their duplex. She wanted to talk to Sion but there were no phones available for overseas calling. Instead she just shouted her pleas hoping the wind will carry her voice over lands, mountains and seas. “Sabi niya, ‘Ate Ency! Kunin mo na ako dito. Tulungan mo naman ako!.’ Sinasabi niya yun sa kawalan.”, Puring recalls.
Wncy could only see her sister on a small screened laptop as her grandchildren pan the webcam attached to a laptop. She was crying; calling out to her sister, shouting for her forgiveness for not being by her side. Now it was her turn to shout her cries hoping the wind will carry her voice for Mila to hear.
Lawrence and I availed the Magsing-Irog massage package. We had a small little room while therapists give us a Swedish massage. The room was quaint and had the nature-inspired design. The therapists were more than accommodating when it comes to the reflexology and my constant badgering of questions.